Wednesday, March 21, 2018

Fashion and Textile programs closing in schools relates to the closing of fabric, textile and quilt shops.



I am a retired Family and Consumer Sciences teacher.  I taught classes in several of the FACS components.  My favorite courses were textile and sewing, and housing and interior design. 
There were occasions I had to do a great deal of wheeling and dealing to keep my sewing classes alive in the school that I worked at, especially the Advanced Sewing course that I taught. 

This winter, two things happened that made me realize that the decline in the quilting / fabric textile industry truly is related to the decline of sewing / textile programs junior high schools and high schools across the United States.
1          1)      Two teachers talked about their Sewing and Textiles programs being shut down to make 
                   room for different programs and subject areas in their school. 

2          2)      One of my favorite fabric companies, Free Spirit, notified consumers that they were closing                 production of their fabric lines.  It was stated that the company was going to focus on      
                   products other than fabric.  Very soon after, a private company purchased Free Spirit fabrics.               I was thrilled but it made me think about the correlation of the two. 

A bit of History background, according to my memory :-) :  Up until the late 80’s people really did sew because it was cost effective.   I sure did.  I remember digging through a pile of fabric in Menomonie, WI to make my interview outfit for my first teaching job. The cost, approximately, $9.00.  We can’t and don’t do that anymore. 

Around the same era a change came to the name Home Economics in the United States; to Family and Consumer Sciences.  (The name was officially changed during the mid-90’s)  With that, it was said that society changed too.  It was declared that students didn’t need to learn and practice sewing and cooking which led to curriculum in schools focusing on college preparation courses.  The movement of “college for everyone” began.  One of the original land grant schools, The University of Minnesota, stopped teaching food preparation and sewing to their FACS education majors.
  
Therefore, as less and less people used fabric, the prices rose due to increased production costs and the lower fabric demand. 

I am on a Facebook page for only Family and Consumer Sciences (known as FACS or FCS) professionals.  I also follow Scott Fortunoff on Facebook, A family member of the Jaftex group that purchased Free Spirit.  (Thank You!)  

In the very same week, those two FACS professionals were saddened because the programs that they built in sewing and textiles were being shut down to add the different courses to the schools curriculums.   And, Scott Fortunoff mentioned that sewers should continue to support local quilt shops and help keep them in business.  (Which I do, very well. Ha-ha) But the thing is, I have seen three amazing quilt shops close in the last 2 years, just in the Midwest.  On the Facebook page for the Kaffe Fassett Collective (Fabric designers) I would guess 70 percent of the members are over 45.  This leads to the question, “What happens when the baby boomers are no longer able to sew?”

I have always maintained that you cannot be a fashion designer if someone does not know how to put it together.  This was a pretty good argument to keep programs alive during a time when fashion was a focus in the media via reality shows.  When I was teaching, we always strayed away from a quilting course because it was labeled as crafty and didn’t relate to fashion.  Now, when I think about how much math I do every day while I quilt, I just laugh at the former criticism. 

So, what exactly is my point?  My point is that industry needs to support the Family and Consumer Sciences professionals.  Support them and their programs through word of mouth and financially if you can.  Be political, encourage states, counties and school districts to continue to teach children to sew and create; it is art, design and career oriented.  If FACS professionals and the textile industry help each other, we will help each other.  (How is that for profound?) 

And in the meantime, think about this.  Do we have a societal problem with children feeling depressed, insecure, lacking in manual dexterity, and trouble with personal socialization?  I believe the answer is yes.  So, if by chance, sewing turned to a hobby instead of a career, would that be a problem?  Life does not always have to be serious, it can be fun too.  If a student gets joy out of sewing, cool!  They are also getting; manual dexterity through cutting, math through measuring and figuring, and socializing through chatting with their neighbor while they sew and help each other.

Keeping FACS alive will help keep the textile industry alive, I promise. 

With love from your retired FACS teacher,
Jane


10 comments:

  1. Jane, your comments are so spot on! I remember when I proposed a quilting event for the AAFCS 100 th Anniversary and was shot down, not once , but twice. They just didn’t get it. So much math and engineering goes into quilting. Not to mention artistic expression as well as a host of other pluses.

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  2. Thank you for your great article Jane. This is what designer Iris Apfel alluded to as well. If we don't teach children/young adults how to sew (and all that it entails: math, patience, 3-dimensional visualization, design, color, etc.) how can they possibly enter careers that support our garment industry? I'm saddened when I see hems that are frayed (although that's the trend right now-ugh), or clothes with missing buttons or undone seams. Likewise, perhaps our US obesity rate is on the rise because no one has learned how to cook a proper and nutritious meal. Cooking at home is so much healthier than restaurant food, and takes less time because you're not travelling or waiting for your food to be prepared.

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    1. Thank you for the positive comments! Now let's help keep the programs we have and assist other schools in building theirs back into the system.

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  3. Unfortunately, I have to agree with what you've said. Not only have I seen the decline of sewing in schools, but in 4-H also. Many of the participants struggle with the decision to take a sewing project to fair because there is no one at home to help them with the projects. It's so frustrating to watch, but I refuse to give up on this. I teach classes at a number of area quilt shops and always offer at least one class per series that is designed for young people or new sewers. It's absolutely a joy to work with someone who is creating their first work. :-)

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  4. I found your views very interesting. Our rural school district built a new high school 19 years ago, our FCE dept. had two classrooms - a multi-station cooking lab and a classroom set up for sewing. Within two or three years, all sewing classes were eliminated because the focus was on college prep. I taught English in this district and later was the librarian, so I saw daily the challenges small districts have balancing budget constraints with offering needed curriculum and trying to keep electives. My husband and I expected our own children to go to post secondary education, but we encouraged all three to take vocational courses. Every day of their adult lives, they are using what they learned in shop and family living classes even though they do not make their livings in those areas. My daughter took sewing and foods in 4-H, and although she does not have time to sew now, she knows how. Five of our grandchildren go to school in this same district and all have taken sewing (making stuffed animals) and foods classes in the elementary summer school program, two of the most popular classes in the whole summer program. They love to do sewing and crafting projects when they are at our house. Sadly when our FCE teacher retired, the district struggled to find someone to replace her and ended up giving emergency licensure to someone not trained in home ec. I, myself, am the product of 4-H and have sewed since I was 10, cooking even earlier. I mainly quilt now. The only garment sewing I do is for my youngest granddaughter or for donation. I believe quilt shops need to purposely offer short, easy classes for kids at A REASONABLE PRICE or free if they want to develop future customers. As for schools, I wish the pendulum would swing back to seeing the importance of real-life experiences, but I don't know how they can manage offering everything to everyone.

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    1. It is wonderful that you are keeping the art alive in your family. I hope that there are more out there like you. We need to keep up the education any way that we can. Last year I offered a two day workshop to FACS teachers on teaching textiles and sewing. I had three people here and it was fun, and I think it was helpful. Just keep doing what you can to keep textiles alive.

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  5. as I am getting ready to retire my principal told NE they will close my ptogram. Health can pick up nutrition and maybe cook a little. I taught quilting to middle school students, first for babies with A.I.D.S. then to donate for babies in local hospitals. We made cancer hats for children too. This year I worked with an art teacher to make a landscape quilt and will show it at the school art show. I also developed a kitchen science electric time course to tie in with S.T.E. M. but the administration has never come in to my room or even talk to me about my program. The former principal knew what I was doing and approved my curriculum work but he left last year.Marie Olson-Badeau

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    1. Congratulations on your retirement. It is so difficult to watch the programs that we build up go away. Do what you can to help and still enjoy retirement. I write my blogs and try to contribute as a mentor on the Facebook page when I can.

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